The present invention relates to a disposable wearing article for absorption and retention of bodily waste.
There has already been provided a disposable wearing article comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet facing the wearer's skin, a liquid-impervious backsheet facing away from the wearer's skin and a liquid-absorbent layer sandwiched between the top- and backsheets so as to define a front waist region, a rear waist region and a crotch region extending between these waist regions. The article is contoured by longitudinally opposite ends extending in a transverse direction and transversely opposite edges extending in a longitudinal direction. The article includes a plurality of waist elastic members attached to the longitudinally opposite ends in a stretchable/contractible manner and a plurality of leg elastic members attached to the transversely opposite edges of the crotch region in a stretchable/contractible manner (See PATENT DOCUMENT 1). In this article of prior art, the front waist region and the rear waist region are put flat together along the transversely opposite edges of the respective waist regions and these edges put flat together are permanently bonded together at a plurality of heat-sealing lines arranged intermittently along the respective edges of these waist regions. This article of prior art is of pants-type having a waist-hole and a pair of leg-holes.
The waist elastic members are sandwiched between the top- and backsheets and stretched at a predetermined ratio to be bonded to these sheets in such stretched state. The leg elastic members comprise first elastic members extending from the side of the front waist region into the crotch region so as to be convex toward a middle zone of the crotch region and second elastic members extending from the side of the rear waist region into the crotch region so as to be convex toward the middle zone of the crotch region. The first elastic members comprise transversely opposite lateral segments and intermediate segments extending between these lateral segments across the middle zone of the crotch region. The second elastic members comprise transversely opposite lateral segments and intermediate segments extending between these lateral segments across the middle zone of the crotch region. The lateral segments of the first and second elastic members are sandwiched between the top- and backsheets and permanently bonded to these sheets. The intermediate segments of the first and second elastic members comprise crossover sites lying immediately outside transversely opposite sides of the liquid-absorbent layer and intersecting one another and cross segments extending between the crossover sites across the liquid-absorbent layer. The crossover sites are sandwiched between the top- and backsheets and permanently bonded to these sheets. The cross segments are sandwiched between the backsheet and the liquid-absorbent layer and permanently bonded to these sheet and layer. The lateral segments as well as the intermediate segments of the first and second elastic members are stretched at a predetermined ratio and permanently bonded in such stretched state to the respective sheets and layer. The first and second elastic members are relaxed immediately after the lateral segments and the intermediate segments have been permanently bonded to the respective sheets and layer.    [PATENT DOCUMENT 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Gazette No. 1998-57410
In the case of the wearing article disclosed in PATENT DOCUEMENT 1, if a light transmission of the backsheet is relatively high, color of the respective intermediate segments of the first and second elastic members will be transmitted through the backsheet and consequentially the intermediate segment may be seen through the backsheet from the outside of the backsheet. If a stretch ratio of the respective intermediate segments of the first and second elastic members is relatively high, a contractile force of the intermediate segments may cause the backsheet as well as the liquid-absorbent layer to contract in the transverse direction and thereby cause the backsheet as well as the liquid-absorbent layer extending in the crotch region to be formed with a plurality of irregular wrinkles. If the respective intermediate segments of the first and second elastic members are seen through the backsheet and the contractile force of the intermediate segments causes the backsheet to be formed with such wrinkles, the respective intermediate segments of the elastic members extending in the crotch region as well as the wrinkles of the backsheet will be highly visible and the appearance of the article will be deteriorated.